10 Killed in Taliban Raid on Government Office

Three Taliban terrorists raided a government office sparking a firefight before detonating their suicide vests.

Gabe Kahn., 12/01/12 19:36

Taliban Fighters

Israel news photo: Wikimedia Commons

Taliban terror-insurgents stormed a government building in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday sparking a firefight that killed 10 people.

A statement from the Afghan Interior Ministry said three terrorists broke into a communications building in Sharan, a provincial capital 160 kilometers south of Kabul.

Amid the ensuing firefight, two of the terrorists set off their suicide bomb vests. In addition to the three terrorists, three policemen and four employees of the Telecommunications Ministry were killed. Two other police officers and a civilian were injured.

The Taliban claimed responsibility via email saying the attack involved multiple targets. In a statement emailed to journalists, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the governor's office, the provincial reconstruction team, and the intelligence headquarters were all hit.

The Afghan Interior Ministry, however, said only one building was attacked.

Paktika province is one of the main routes for Taliban terrorists crossing into eastern Afghanistan from their bases across the border. It is also one of the main strongholds of the Al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network, which has been blamed for a series of spectacular attacks.

The attack comes a week after the Taliban announced it would be opening a foreign office in Qatar from which it will pursue peace talks with the United States, whose invasion ended their rule in Kabul a decade ago.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said he does not oppose Taliban-US peace talks insofar as his government is included in the process.

Many Afghans, however, are concerned the return of the reactionary Islamist Taliban movement to Afghan's politics could be a blow to the civil liberties that were won after they were driven from power.